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GARDENING/PETS CHRISTCHURCH MAIL, MARCH 6, 2014 ■ Pet of the week Fertiliser easy to make By RACHEL OLDHAM and VIRGIL EVETTS MAKE LIQUID PLANT FOODS Now is a good time to rot down comfrey leaves and other natural ingredients to make your own liquid fertiliser. Fill a large drum or barrel two-thirds of the way up with water and then add comfrey leaves by the armload. To make a smaller amount, simply use a lidded bucket and apply the same ratio of water to greenery. You can also make good liquid plant food from grass clippings; sheep, cow, or horse manure; roadkill; fish scraps; and fallen leaves and other green waste. Use a 44 gallon drum-sized barrel. Pop on a tight-fitting lid and leave the brew to break down slowly over the next couple of months. Lift the lid occasionally – hold your nose, as it’s going to smell – and mix the sludge around to break up any clumps. Once it’s ready, pour some into a watering can and dilute it until it’s the colour of weak tea. Apply it to your plants for a great nutrient boost. Note: Be sure to keep your smelly brew well away from your home and the neighbours’ boundary fences. HARVEST CHILLI PEPPERS My chillies are ripening two at a time at the moment, but I know it’s just a matter of time before I end up with more than I can handle from my fiery trio of ‘Trinidad Moruga Scorpion’, As a rule, orach tolerates both hot and cold better than true spinach, and unlike its venerable, moody cousin, won’t rush into flowering at the drop of a hat. It can be used in place of spin- ‘Red Scorpion F1’ and ‘Padron’ chilli plants. Pick chilli peppers when they turn bright red – or yellow, purple, or black, if they’re not a red variety – but before they start to shrivel, as this signals to the plant that its job of reproducing is done. Keep picking regularly and your plants should keep on producing. If your pepper plants are growing in pots or planters, like mine, make sure they get a daily drink of water to keep them from wilting in the strong afternoon sun. The last thing you want is for your pepper crop to suck itself dry due to a lack of moisture. Chillies can be frozen whole, or dried for use later in the year. I’m planning to make jars of chilli and capsicum jelly and a few bottles of hot chilli sauce to warm up my tastebuds mid-winter. PLANT ORACH Orach is a little-known member of the spinach and sorrel family, grown for its spinachlike leaves and good looks. Available in lemon-green and fluorescent red, this annual can reach shrub-like proportions in a single season. BED DEALS - QUALITY BRANDS Mel, Jeff & Jenny Sleepmaker Seville Medium 10 Year Warranty. Christchurch Made. Queen Was $2,899 King Was $3,299 Super King Was $3,599 NOW $2,399 SAVE $500 NOW $2,699 SAVE $600 NOW $2,899 SAVE $700 Simmons Beautyrest Bazille Medium 10 Year Warranty. Christchurch Made. Queen Was $2,999 King Was $3,399 Super King Was $3,699 NOW $2,499 SAVE $500 NOW $2,799 SAVE $600 NOW $2,999 SAVE $700 These mattress and base sets have Pocket Spring technology which minimises partner disturbance as each individual coil reacts separately to pressure. All models feature latex and wool in the comfort layers. Open 7 days Mon-Fri 9-5.30pm • Sat-Sun 10-4pm ONE WAY 242 FERRY RD, ALONG FROM OLD AMI STADIUM PHONE 377 8887 www.bedworld.co.nz $35 to$99 NEW CARPET FROM per metre We stock 300 rolls of new carpet. Discounted cash and carry specials. Shortends and factory seconds. All on display in our warehouse. PLUS 10,000 NEW MATS AND RUGS OF ALL SIZES CARPET BINDING AND FRINGING WHILE YOU WAIT SERVICE MONDAY-FRIDAY 8.30AM-5.00PM WE ARE HERE 425 STREET TWO WAY ROSES CARPETS 425 St Asaph St | Phone 379 5730 5810395AB 5920126AB Monday to Saturday 9am-4pm 247B Annex Road, Middleton www.facebook.com/ PremierBooksNZ MILLERS N Retro Cakes, Christchurch When, Left Brain/Right Brain, Dinner’s on the Table $5 each WE ARE HERE! 247 ach and the tender leaves are lovely in salads – no other salad leaf or microgreen comes close to the improbable hue of red orach and few offer such a fragile, velvety texture. If started from seed now, orach will grow through the winter, providing a generous supply of leaves for many months. It’s a prolific self seeder, meaning once planted, you should end up with a lifetime’s supply. Sow the seeds on top of moist seed raising mix and keep in a warm place until germination occurs. Snails may bother young plants. GROW MUNG SPROUTS For almost instant sprouts, start a batch of mung beans this week. I started a jar on Monday morning, and by Wednesday afternoon, they’d sprouted and were ready to eat. To sprout: Place 1 ⁄4 -1 ⁄2 cup of seeds in a preserving jar, cover with cold water, and leave soaking for six hours. Drain the water off and leave the jar in a warm – but not sunny – spot. Rinse and drain the seeds twice a day until they sprout and grow little white tails. Keep them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. Mung beans are excellent in salads and sandwiches, and thrown into a stir-fry in the last minute of cooking. Babies & Toddlers, 200 Recipes for Kids, Desserts for Healthy Kids $5 each WINNER: Wannabe model Penny flashes her pearly whites for the camera. We invite readers to send us a photo of their pet for our Pet of the Week contest. The best photo will be published each week in the Christchurch Mail and the winner will receive a $20 voucher from Bishopdale Pets. One entry per household please. To enter, email a large photo to: rachel.macdonald@fairfaxmedia.co.nz. Photos should be at least 500kb in size. 23 Crazy Priced Books! Things That Go, Nemo, Cars $3 each BLENHEIM RD ANNEX RD CURLETTS RD LUNNS RD PHILLIPS ST FITZGERALD AVE 5914811AC